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Kravitz: This is what hope looks like

It looks like Roy Hibbert, the young guy who is emerging as the true face of this franchise, taking charges and keeping balls alive and hitting cutters for easy layups.

It looks like Darren Collison -- finally, a real Indiana Pacers point guard -- jumping into the passing lane, making a steal, taking it to the basket and elevating over Philadelphia's Louis Williams for a slam.

It looks like Josh McRoberts doing all the little things McRoberts does, defending the lane and diving for loose balls, finally capping it off with a roof-raising dunk late in the third quarter.

It looks like Danny Granger taking it hard to the basket for a three-point play and, yes, defending -- truly defending -- with active hands.

And it sounds like 18,165 voices in full throat, Conseco Fieldhouse sounding like it hasn't sounded in way too many years. Was that the sound of a community finally starting to fall back in love with its basketball franchise? After all those irrelevant, lifeless post-brawl years, do the Pacers finally have a product this city can truly embrace?

Hope.

Granger has hoped before, knowing deep down his team didn't have the talent or the disposition.

This is different than hope, more than hope. It's a growing sense of belief.

"I do sense there's real hope,'' he said after the Pacers' 99-86 home-opening victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. "Finally, we have a solid point guard who will be here for a while. And we've got young guys who are playing well. We've got the mix, the potion, whatever you want to call it, to have a really solid team and make a (playoff) run.''

The Pacers won in Charlotte and won again Saturday night for the simplest of reasons: They played defense, especially against the Sixers, fighting back after a Philly second-quarter run and putting the hammer down in a game-altering third quarter.

"Yeah,'' Granger said, laughing. "Pretty good, huh?''

Coach Jim O'Brien is something of a basketball sabermetrician, a stats guy who keeps his own semi-unique numbers. The Pacers keep track of something they call hustle points -- a compilation of charges taken, loose balls corralled, balls deflected, things like that -- and his team had 69 of those.

They've already shown they aren't last year's team, or the team before that. They won a road game, something they did just nine times last season. And they won the second game of a back-to-back, although Philly played Friday night, too.

It's hard to resist the temptation to go a little overboard, to get a little giddy at the way the Pacers have played this first week. But think back to last year's home opener, a funereal loss to the Miami Heat. The season started badly and never got much better. Hope was snuffed out by the first week of November. It was grim, not just because of the losses but the way they too often lost.

Saturday night, they were too enthusiastic, if that's possible. Hibbert took a second-half charge, jumped to his feet and clapped his hands. He got called for a technical foul. Part of the new emphasis on respect-for-the-game dictum.

"That's OK; I'll write my check and it'll be fine,'' Hibbert said with a smile. "We won the game. That's what counts.''

(For the record, it was one of the most ridiculous calls ever. Hibbert wasn't taunting; he wasn't in the suburbs of taunting. I understand the NBA's desire to cut down on all the post-foul-call complaining and gesticulating, but applauding? Really?)

Yep, this is what hope looks like.

We haven't experienced hope, or even a facsimile of it, since the 2004-05 season, when the brawl set the stage for the franchise's decline.

Granted, there have been fast starts before, misleading starts. In 2005-06, they began 4-1 and finished 41-41. In 2006-07, they won three of their first four and finished 35-47. In 2007-08, they began 3-0 and went 36-46.

This, though, looks different. It feels different. They look like they're building now, establishing a foundation. They finally have their point guard of the future. They have a center who has a chance to be one of the top 10 at his position. They have Granger, who is not only healthy, but looks more and more interested in defending and leading.

Seriously, who thought McRoberts would emerge as a very workable power forward in this league? Who thought Tyler Hansbrough, whom O'Brien felt was not yet ready to play after sitting in San Antonio, would come out and make an impact against Charlotte and Philly? Who thought T.J. Ford -- maybe it's one of those Halloween-esque zombie deals -- would come back from the hoops grave to be a huge part of this team . . finally?

This is what hope looks like, what hope sounds like.

"Jeff Foster has told me what it used to be like around here,'' Collison said. "The goal now is to bring that back.''

Been a long time, hasn't it?

Wow... I was out of my seat the whole game... can't wait until the Bucks game on Friday!

Re: Kravitz: This is what hope looks like

Hot Damn!!!!! I'm ready!!!!! Son of a B!tch if someone would hand me a long sword I'd charge the Scottish fields and slay the English by the hundreds!!!!!

I hope this team is defined by one play from this game. It is not the DC or McRoberts dunk. Or a Danny 3, or even a Roy block. No...rather a simple mistake made by both TJ and Josh assuming each would grab a long rebound. Neither grabbed it and allowed a Philly player to get a hand in off the bounce and tap it away creating a scramble. Just as the ball was quickly rolling out of bounds Josh used those springy legs and launched his body on the floor saving the ball and recovering it for the Pacers.

What hustle. It epitomized what we had that Philly didn't. They could not match our desire to win that game. We were like the Grinch after his heart had grown 3 sizes that day.

Re: Kravitz: This is what hope looks like

But think back to last year's home opener, a funereal loss to the Miami Heat. The season started badly and never got much better. Hope was snuffed out by the first week of November. It was grim, not just because of the losses but the way they too often lost.

Hello... Bob? What about the epic 5 game win streak that happened right after that first week of November? You know... the 5 game win streak that gave us false hope for the rest of the season??

Did he even consult the team's 09-10 win loss record he wrote this? Pitiful journalism. For the of the basketball gods, indystar should hire one of the posters from PD to write their articles for the Pacers.

Re: Kravitz: This is what hope looks like

Hello... Bob? What about the epic 5 game win streak that happened right after that first week of November? You know... the 5 game win streak that gave us false hope for the rest of the season??

Did he even consult the team's 09-10 win loss record he wrote this? Pitiful journalism. For the of the basketball gods, indystar should hire one of the posters from PD to write their articles for the Pacers.

To be fair that came after starting 0-3 including two horrendous losses to the Heat and Nuggets. It wasn't just that we lossed, it was how. Dominated from beginning to end, uninspired. So even with the 5 game win streak, we still had that in our minds. This years only loss thus far was an inspired effort that gave a perrenial powerhouse all they could handle on their homecourt for 3 quarters.

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Re: Kravitz: This is what hope looks like

The 5 game win streak had a giant caveat of coinciding with the injury of a player near universally recognized as hurting the team on the floor, A fact generally accepted by everyone except our dear coach.

This time around there appears to be no strings attached, no inflated roles by journeyman, no murphy spectres lurking...

Re: Kravitz: This is what hope looks like

There were some great wins in that 5 game win streak, like beating Boston and the 3 games before that were blowouts where the Pacers were playing great defense and dominating. I was a believer after that... then Troy came back from injury and it all went to hell...

Re: Kravitz: This is what hope looks like

There were some great wins in that 5 game win streak, like beating Boston and the 3 games before that were blowouts where the Pacers were playing great defense and dominating. I was a believer after that... then Troy came back from injury and it all went to hell...

well, troy murphy WAS the difference. Alot of people could see the meltdown coming once Troy returned.

Re: Kravitz: This is what hope looks like

I feel great about this year regardless of this wins and losses. If we win 36 and our big-little 3 play great all season, great.

But if we win 46 games than I will **** a brick. If we play like we did last night, than I think we can. This team reminds me a lot of a young and bloodthirsty team like Portland two years ago and OKC last year. Young and athletic players that listen to their coach and gives an effort, although for us not very consistent, on defnse.

We have Roy Hibbert, the heart and soul of our team, putting up all around numbers who has become a good rebounder- something that no one saw coming- and is becoming a big time defensive presence.

Danny Granger has been amazing so far, and he's been amazing every single time he's been injured. Once again he's a league leader in scoring, and this time it is on very high percentages. He has become our leader, and he is playing defense and sharing the rock. He's still a little trigger happy with the threes, but ah well.

Darren Collison is a high percentage shooter that plays with a very high motor. His one on one defense is great. He is the real deal. This kid can hoop, and he deserves more minutes. Give him the whole control of the team Jim. Thats what we brought him here for. He plays a solid all around game and quite frankly a lot of times I forget that he is only 23 years old. His mature game is so very awesome that he boosts the team in ways that I forgot was possible.

Josh McRoberts is a player with some swagger in case you haven't noticed. When he kicked Evan Turner, he did that to intimidate him, he didn't do that on accident. A few minutes later, Turner went to get ready for the inbounds play and he went around Josh and he didn't budge, and it intimidated Turner. He looked scared. His athleticism and rebounding is very refreshing at the PF spot and I, as a Pacer fan, love the Davis like aggresivness.

Tyler Hansbrough is a beast. He is very much significantly better than last season due to injury, and he goes after rebounds in an aggressive way that I don't know how to explain. When he hits the boards, he sends a message. Don't mess with me I will rip your head off.

Paul George is the player that will be a huge star. He has a beautiful shot and he is so darn athletic. He has a natural feel for the game. I love that. That cross court bounce pass was amazing (it wasn't his fault that it didn't convert, Hansbrough had butter fingers there). If TJ Ford ever gives him a chance to do his thing, we could have some elavated bench scoring this year. In years ahead, watch out. This kid is going to be great.

All that sprinkled in with AJ Price, Brandon Rush, Lance Stephenson, and $30 million in cap space, I don't see how anyone can be so down on this team.

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Re: Kravitz: This is what hope looks like

I know we had that five game win streak last year, that now is infamous around these parts, but I agree...this feels different. I absolutely love the chemistry of this team. It really does feel different. I know we have beaten two non-playoff teams (probably), but the way we did it is really encouraging. Regardless of how this year turns out, it is going to be more fun than last year.

Re: Kravitz: This is what hope looks like

The part that just hit me .... is what if this team is a 45 game or more win team? That cap space looks even better this offseason. We wouldn't just be a team with cap space (like New Jersey), we'd be a team with cap space that was on the rise, even without a big signing. Players would see that and this place would be a much bigger free agent destination.

After what we've been through the last 5 years, this franchise, and in particular, the fan base deserves that.

Re: Kravitz: This is what hope looks like

The part that just hit me .... is what if this team is a 45 game or more win team? That cap space looks even better this offseason. We wouldn't just be a team with cap space (like New Jersey), we'd be a team with cap space that was on the rise, even without a big signing. Players would see that and this place would be a much bigger free agent destination.

After what we've been through the last 5 years, this franchise, and in particular, the fan base deserves that.

Our team is so young if we do become a 45 win team a lot of the money will need to be saved so we can sign Hibbert, and Collison in two years, and then Tyler the following year. Not to mention Josh is a free agent next summer if he keeps improving he could get a decent paycheck.

We will still have money to sign someone we just have to make sure we are still under the cap to sign our young guys later.

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Re: Kravitz: This is what hope looks like

I am trying really hard not to get too optimistic. I was optimistic that "this year was going to be different" after the Boston win last year, which turned out to be just a dreadful season. I was optimistic the year before that when we beat the **** out of Boston really early in the season, The fact that we even regressed last year from the previous really boring couple of years prior to that really said something to me.

The miracle of trading Troy for a real PG helps more than one can imagine, and I think Paul George is looking like he's going to have the ability to really contribute in limited time for us this year, whereas in the past few years, I felt like we were playing rookies just to develop them, even though they looked woefully out of place and unproductive most of the time. I like Hibbert, Rush, and Hansbrough, but George could be really special and the first indicator of that has been his relative productivity in these first couple of games compared to that of the former 3 rookies.

But for now, I'm totally keeping my guard up and assuming 36 or so wins is par for this team. I am tired of the false hope and can't lead myself to believe in these guys completely.

However, I am more invested in rooting for the Pacers to win this season. I have read where Al Horford is having problems agreeing to an extension with the Hawks. If the Pacers make the playoffs this year and make a little noise, does he see Indiana as the possible OKC of the East? Either way, winning this year could net us a huge free agent. But like someone else said, we need to keep money in the bank to resign Hibbert, who is going to command a huge deal, resign probably McRoberts and Hansbrough, and maybe Rush.

Re: Kravitz: This is what hope looks like

You were BORED two years ago? I hope you are just forgetting under the weight of last season, but playing most teams to within 3-5 points all year might have been frustrating but certainly not boring.

Your both right here in a way.

Yes indeed keeping games close and enteresting certainly was far better than the life sucking 20-30 point losses we suffered through last season.

But I think what he is saying is the style of play is more entertaining than seeing mostly distance jumpers that sometimes fell and a far more physical play from the interior and an increased emphasis on deflections and steal from the wings and guards.

So while you are correct that there were certainly some nail biters he is correct in that some of us prefer this style of play and the other style of play is just boring.

Of course that is a matter of opinion of course because I do recognize that while I do not like the three point shot, others love it.

Basketball isn't played with computers, spreadsheets, and simulations. ChicagoJ 4/21/13

Re: Kravitz: This is what hope looks like

You were BORED two years ago? I hope you are just forgetting under the weight of last season, but playing most teams to within 3-5 points all year might have been frustrating but certainly not boring.

I think it was boring because we didn't have a bright future, there was nothing to look forward too, the young guys were not getting playing time and the likes of Rasho, Marquis and F Murray were playing most of the minutes.

This is what I been trying to explaing to you in the last two years, young players bring hope even if they lose, the games are more excited because you are happy to see them grow instead of watching a bunch of old players that everybody knew they were just prolonging failure keeping the Pacers in limbo.

Re: Kravitz: This is what hope looks like

I think it was boring because we didn't have a bright future, there was nothing to look forward too, the young guys were not getting playing time and the likes of Rasho, Marquis and F Murray were playing most of the minutes.

This is what I been trying to explaing to you in the last two years, young players bring hope even if they lose, the games are more excited because you are happy to see them grow instead of watching a bunch of old players that everybody knew they were just prolonging failure keeping the Pacers in limbo.

Ok, this as well.

I know Bills is going to come on here and disagree but I think you make a good point here and I think more than a few people agree with your thoughts on this.

Bill will have his points as well but again it is all a matter of personnal opinion on this.

Basketball isn't played with computers, spreadsheets, and simulations. ChicagoJ 4/21/13

Re: Kravitz: This is what hope looks like

im sticking with my original estimation that this is a 40 win team potentially, give or take a few wins.. in a weird way i dont want to see us win more than 45 yet i really do. i think this is the last season where we will not make the playoffs, thus the last opportunity at a top 10 draft pick. however, who knows what will be available so i'd rather have the wins. just like last season so many were pi$$ed we put together that win streak at the end of the season.. but hell what if paul george turns out to be a better player than evan turner?? it could happen folks.

all im sayin here is.. i would like to see us acquire one more young player, before we go back on the rise for several seasons. i dont think a stud FA is an option, and as many have eluded to.. were gonna have to have space available to resign guys like Hibbert, DC, George, Hansbro, McBob, even Danny down the road.. its gonna be real interesting to see how Bird handles the cap space next offseason.

im still hoping this team wins 45 and gets in the playoffs.. but ending up in the lottery and a top 12 pick and another young player might not be so bad either. not real sure.. because with rush/george and hansbro/mcbob im cautiously optimistic.. ideally we do not make the playoffs and end up with a top 3 pick, then were really set with a young nucleus.. but realistically i think we have a playoff team.

of course the new CBA next year will impact our decision making as well going forward. for right now i think im just gonna enjoy the journey and watching the developmnt of this young team. pacers are in great shape going forward i believe in comparison to other teams who are going to be way over the cap next year with the new cba set to take place.